Freddie and Merle

Freddie, an animal shelter terrier, introduces us to the widow and soon-to-be-retired middle school history teacher Merle McKinney. Merle and Freddie form an instant bond when she adopts him and settles him into her San Antonio condo. It soon becomes evident that Freddie sees himself as the rescuer instead of the rescued in their relationship, and he sets about helping Merle find a new man. On a weekend visit to the Gulf coast, Merle encounters Willie - a handsome, witty, and entertaining, albeit peculiar, older gentleman. Merle is smitten, but Freddie knows Willie isn''t all he seems to be. Thus begins Merle''s quest and Freddie''s mission.

Meanwhile, Merle is going bonkers with all the school''s changing rules, useless testing, and difficult kids with clueless parents. As a venerable veteran of the Texas public schools, she loves the kids but yearns for the good-old-days when students actually paid attention in class and most of them were polite. She has pretty much had enough and starts seriously considering retirement. Advice on this topic, as well as on her turbulent love life, comes from Merle''s eclectic assortment of friends. Never without wisdom to impart, Freddie has a lot to say on the subject of men. However, Merle suspects that Freddie''s interest may be more self-serving than helpful.

Although Merle and Freddie''s story starts in San Antonio, it takes several interludes at Merle''s coastal cottage in the fictional village of Copano Beach on the Texas Gulf Coast. This is where Merle retreated to grieve after her husband''s death, and this is where she goes with Freddie to get her head straight when her relationships blow up in her face. Freddie sees these hard times as opportunities to go above and beyond expectations in cheering her up. Freddie loves the coast. It has street snax, frog jerky, and frito bugs. Plus, it smells funky. Freddie loves funky.

The cottage is also where she gets to be grandma with her passel of grandkids. Freddie enjoys the raucous atmosphere of family gatherings, especially if those events include boiled shrimp dinners - something good always falls on the floor – or crabbing trips to the salt flats. Merle enjoys cooking comfort food in the cottage''s old kitchen with the tall ceilings and glass-front cabinets. Working in her kitchen always makes her remember her grandmother, her ''Buela, who raised a family on the Mexican border in the early 1900s. In addition to Freddie''s running narrative of Merle''s amorous adventures, Merle herself explains her frustrations and exhilarations in the new, scary world of elder dating in her journal that she hopes never falls into the hands of her grandchildren. In the end, Merle learns some very valuable lessons and Freddie has her back all the way. Women who have been reading romances all their lives and are now getting older will find a heroine they can identify with in Merle. Dog lovers will enjoy Freddie''s view of events and sage doggie advice.